The battle for trade (Polish: Bitwa o handel; also translated as trade battle or battle over trade) was an element of the state politics in the early period of communist takeover of Poland (1946–49) according to which new laws and regulations succeeded in significantly decreasing the size of the private sector in Polish trade, in order to facilitate the transformation of Polish economy from capitalism to Soviet communism's planned economy.
According to historian Anne Applebaum, "The Battle for Trade took the form of rigid price regulation and high taxation, accompanied by criminal penalties for the failure to fill out proper forms, as well as a massive licensing and permit system. All entrepreneurs had to have business licenses that required them to prove they were professionally qualified ... ."[1]
The larger private shops were nationalized or closed, and government-owned chains (Powszechne Domy Towarowe) and cooperatives were created to replace them, but that was inefficient as more shops were closed than opened and led to lasting difficulties for Polish people in obtaining consumer goods. Battle for trade was introduced by Polish communist propaganda to denote the importance and urgency of the fight against "capitalist profiteers and saboteurs".[2]